Consumer access systems and methods for providing same

ABSTRACT

Apparatus and methods for providing enhanced consumer access to information sources and controllable entities. An Access device can be a stand alone device such as a DVD player in which the DVD disk contains the back-end information network. Other Access devices obtain the back-end information network from remote sources. By way of a specific example, the consumer can then view a game and interactively select every television camera located at the game venue.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a Continuation Application of Ser. No. 09/729,904,Filed Dec. 4, 2000, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/168,822 filed Dec. 3, 1999.

FIELD

Various embodiments of the invention relate to apparatus and methods forproviding enhanced consumer access to information sources andcontrollable entities. Further, various embodiments of the inventionrelate to real-time asset, business logic and consumer integrationsystems and more particularly to systems and methods for providing veryenhanced worldwide real-time availability of consumer access to andhandling of asset and business logic offerings, independent of existingor future asset types, access device types and infrastructures in use.

SUMMARY

Typically entertainment Offerings to Consumers are restricted in suchimportant aspects as availability, personalization and interactivity,rendering the Offerings limited in their attractiveness andeffectiveness as far as the main intention of the Offering Provider isconcerned, that of creating Consumer business, return on investment andmaximizing the Assets' profitability. For example a typical professionalfootball, baseball, hockey or similar sports event is played in a largestadium having a plurality of television cameras following the game fromdifferent positions. At the broadcast studio, a television directordetermines which camera signal is actually broadcast. As a result, theConsumer watching the game on his or her television set sees only theimage of the camera selected by the television director for broadcastingover the television network. In addition, the Consumer can access theprogram only if he or she is in a location covered by this broadcastingtelevision network, and only if he or she is using a compatible AccessDevice such as a television set, which is integrated in the appropriateAccess Device Infrastructure, i.e. hooked up to a correctly installedSet-top Box with the respective channel enabled.

In various embodiments of this invention, however, the Asset Provider isable to provide the Consumer with personalized, fully accessible andunrestricted interactive Asset Offerings, independent of the existing orfuture type or location of the Asset, the type or location of the AccessDevice and the various infrastructures in use. The television signalsfrom installed video cameras are transmitted simultaneously over theinternet as well as the standard terrestrial, cable and satellitetelevision network. The Consumer can view this same game on his hometelevision set, on an internet connected personal computer (PC) or acellular phone anywhere in the world. On the used Access Device's screenhe views the outputs of all of these cameras on a plurality of smallMonitor Windows and one larger OnScreen Window. Whichever of the camerasis shown on the larger OnScreen Window is entirely at the discretion andinteractive selection of the Consumer. As a result, each Consumerbecomes in effect his or her own director creating an extraordinarilyenhanced ability to view an athletic game. In various embodiments theConsumer Access System identifies the Consumer himself, regardless ofthe Access Device in use, and personalizes all services automatically.Therefore all channels and services that are enabled by the AssetProvider for access by the identified Consumer are available everywhereon any Access Device. A detailed Consumer profile can be created, sothat Asset Offerings such as Sport events, product offers oradvertisements are targeted on the Consumer's very personal interestsand any purchases can be directly executed.

As the Consumer Access System is able to handle any Asset type anywhere,it also can span over different Enterprises, combining different AssetOfferings and handling all inherent business logics. In the example theConsumer would receive a product advertisement along with the broadcastof the game, exactly matching his personal interests. With few simplesteps the Consumer buys the product, while the generated revenue isautomatically shared between many entities such as the Provider of thegame, the Provider of the advertisement, the Provider of the product andthe Provider of the store.

Similarly, consider a musical, operatic or stage presentation. Asbroadcast today, the television Consumer observes the video output ofthe camera selected by the television Provider although such televisedcultural events are normally televised in venues having a plurality ofcameras trained on the stage from different viewing angles and viewingperspective, e.g., wide angle, normal, or telephoto shots. TypicallyPay-per-view set-ups do not allow any access what-so-ever for undecidedConsumers to view the Pay-per-View Offering, keeping a majority awayfrom attending, rendering these Consumers unavailable for furtherproduct Offerings and reducing the possible Pay-per-view revenues.Various embodiments of the present invention enable the Consumer on theAccess Device of his choice from all over the world to simultaneouslysee the outputs of all of these video cameras, again providing anoutstanding improved viewing access to a cultural event. As the AssetProvider is in full control of his Offerings, he can further improve therevenues of this event by giving free access to some of the more distantcameras and Pay-per-view access at lower fees for “first-row-class”cameras giving the Consumer more choices at lower prices. The overallaudience increases, revenues from Pay-per-view are maximized andconsequently the success of the personalized product Offerings reachesnew dimensions.

Various embodiments enable the integration of any types of existing andfuture Assets, Access Devices and infrastructures in use. They empowerthe Asset Owner to streamline his processes, to create improved and newservices and Offerings, to partner up with other Asset Owners andProviders, while facilitating all Assets, already installed LegacySystems, Access Devices and infrastructures. The example above works inparallel with the conventional television broadcast equipment, andtypically requires no additional cameras. Rather the system uses aparallel feed from each of the already installed cameras. The use andfunction of television broadcast cameras and Broadcast or Deliveryinfrastructure are in no way compromised or degraded—the installedcameras broadcast signals over their usual links without any changewhile a parallel feed from each camera is typically connected via adirect or conventional local area network as part of the system ofvarious embodiments of this invention. Also the described ElectronicCommerce works on top of the installed Legacy Systems, spanning multipleEnterprises and accessing the existing applications in order to initiateauthentications, shipments, invoices, inventory and production updates,all the way through the supply chain and back to the customerrelationship management applications.

Various embodiments provide an interactive Front-end Human Interface(FHI). In some embodiments, software for this User Interface can belocated either or entirely (1) on the Consumer's Access Device or (2) onthe Back-end Information Network of the system and is dynamically (1)updated or (2) loaded into the Consumer's Access Device anytime theConsumer opens his or her Access Device to the Start Site of the AssetProvider's Offerings empowered by various embodiments of this invention.In various embodiments, the Back-end Information Network is AccessDevice Adaptable, supporting any kind of connected Access Device withoutany restrictions as of i.e. hardware platforms or operating systems, anddynamically assembles the Front-end Human Interface to the Consumerspreferences and the specifications of the Access Device in use,including the dynamic Localization of the interface itself. For example,a Japanese Consumer using his cellular phone is automatically providedwith the Front-end Human Interface optimized for the Screen size of hiscellular phone in the Japanese localized version of the interface, whilean Egyptian Consumer connecting with a television set (TV) to the sameAsset Offering receives a Front-end Human Interface for the bigger TVscreen size in the Egyptian localized version—even though the AssetProvider designed only one interface and provided it only in the Britishlocalized version. The Front-end Human Interface can also span acrossmultiple Access Devices, creating for the Consumer one single VirtualAccess Environment. The Consumer can freely layout the Front-end HumanInterface across all Screens of the assimilated Access Devices—aConsumer watching a football game, chooses a camera angle on his PocketPC and directs the video output to be displayed in full screen on histelevision set (TV). Being attracted by a product sales Offeringdisplayed on the TV and simultaneously provided with a correspondingprompt on his Pocket PC, he responds to it on his Pocket PC,automatically directing his Personal Computers' Front-end HumanInterface to the online store and purchasing the product on his PersonalComputer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates the video display provided to the Access Device suchas a Personal Computer;

FIGS. 1B, 1C and 1D illustrate the automatic Localization functionalityof various embodiments of the invention, with examples for British,Egyptian and Japanese Localizations;

FIGS. 1E and 1F illustrate the customizability of the Front-end HumanInterface's Screen Layout depicting several arrangements,

FIGS. 1G, 1H and 1J illustrate the capability of various embodiments ofthe invention to allow simultaneously access to various Asset types,

FIGS. 1H and 1J also show the use of the Front-end Human Interface todisplay any combination of its Window types (2 OnScreen+6 Monitors, 1OnScreen+5 Monitors+1 Companion, . . . )

FIGS. 1K, 1L, 1M, and 1N illustrate the capability of variousembodiments of the invention to allow to support various Access Devicetypes, depicting Screen Layouts for Palm Pilot IIIc, Pocket PC, EricssonR380 and Nokia 9210 Communicator cellular phones,

FIGS. 1P, 1R and 1S illustrate the unique Virtual Access Environmentcapability of various embodiments of the invention, whereas theFront-end Human Interface can simultaneously span over multiple AccessDevices, allowing the Consumer to easily control the combine thefunctionalities of the different Access Device types;

FIG. 1P shows the set up for choosing on a cellular phone the cameraangles displayed on a Television set, while simultaneously programming aVideo Cassette Recorder from the Television set and receiving detailedCoca Cola product information on the cellular phone along with therespective advertisement on the Television set,

FIG. 1R shows the set up for choosing on a Palm Pilot the camera anglesdisplayed on a Personal Computer, while simultaneously accessing a VideoCassette Recorder from the Personal Computer,

FIG. 1S shows the set up for choosing on a Pocket PC the camera anglesdisplayed on a Personal Computer as well as on the Pocket PC, whilesimultaneously accessing a Video Cassette Recorder from the PersonalComputer;

FIG. 2A shows an overview block diagram of a typical Consumer AccessSystems,

FIG. 2B is a simplified schematic diagram that shows an Access AssetSystem for Video Broadcasting over the Internet in accordance withvarious embodiments,

FIG. 2C gives an abstract overview of Asset and Access Device typeshandled by the Back-end Information Network,

FIG. 2D illustrates the general overview of Our World Live's ConsumerAccess System depicting the cooperation of the relevant parts,

FIG. 2E shows a schematic illustration of the structure of the Front-endHuman Interface,

FIG. 2F illustrates the general overview of the Virtual AccessEnvironment feature of Our World Live's Consumer Access System,

FIG. 2G shows a schematic illustration of the structure of the AssetAccess Interface;

FIG. 3A shows an abstracted illustration of an Asset Infrastructure;

FIG. 3B is a more detailed schematic diagram shown this manner in whichthe Asset Infrastructure encodes the video signals for several differentinternet delivery channels in various embodiments;

FIG. 3C is a more detailed schematic diagram shown this manner in whichthe Asset Infrastructure encodes a MS PowerPoint Presentation forseveral different Broadcasting or Delivery Infrastructures and Assettypes in various embodiments;

FIG. 4A shows an abstracted illustration of a Broadcasting or DeliveryInfrastructure providing streaming services such as a Streaming ServerPhalanx;

FIG. 4B illustrates a more detailed schematic diagram of a StreamingServer Phalanx, in which a plurality of streaming servers providemultiple camera video broadcasting to the World Wide Internet;

FIG. 5A is a block diagram illustrating providing a Consumer access to avariety of available Asset Offerings from Asset Providers around theworld;

FIG. 6A illustrates the manner in which the combined Asset Offerings ofseveral Asset Providers is presented in an easy to understand and easyto use way;

FIG. 7A illustrates providing the Consumer with the ability to staytuned to the Asset Offerings of multiple Asset Providers at the verysame moment, without losing track of any of them;

FIG. 8B illustrates enabling the Front-end Human Interface tosimultaneously access multiple Asset Offerings while optimally using theavailable bandwidth of the Broadcasting or Delivery Infrastructures inuse for transmitting the data;

FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram giving an overview of Access DeviceDeployment functionality in accordance with various embodiments of theinvention,

FIG. 9B illustrates how the Front-end Human Interface located on theBack-end Information Network is dynamically loaded into the Consumer'sAccess Device any time the Consumer opens it;

FIG. 9C illustrates the deployment of an Access Device, in which partsof the User Interface software reside permanently on the Access Deviceand are dynamically updated any time the Consumer opens;

FIG. 9D illustrates how a DVD/CDROM built-in the Access Device, becomesautomatically available for navigation and control through the Front-endHuman Interface,

FIG. 9E illustrates the capability of dynamically balancing the loadbetween the Back-end Information Network and the Access Device, showsthe process of the Dynamic Load-balancing capability between theBack-end;

FIG. 9F illustrates the deployment of a disconnected Access Device, inaccordance with various embodiments, in which all needed parts areembedded on the same DVD/CD medium also containing the Asset Offerings,rendering the Access Device into a fully functional Consumer AccessSystem any time the Consumer opens it,

FIG. 9G is an schematic diagram showing an exemplary set up of astandalone Consumer Access System such as a Home and EntertainmentControl system,

FIG. 10A is an abstract schematic diagram of a typical Access Device,

FIG. 10B is an example for Access Device: Information System Devices;

FIGS. 10C and 10D are examples for Access Devices of the type: HomeEntertainment Device,

FIG. 10E is an example for Access Device of the type: Home Appliances,

FIG. 10F is an example for Access Device of the type: CommunicationSystem Device,

FIG. 10G is an example for Access Device of the type: AudioEntertainment Device,

FIG. 10H is an example for Access Device of the type: Audio and VideoEntertainment Device,

FIG. 11A is a schematic drawing of an overview of the Back-endInformation Network Infrastructure,

FIG. 11B is a schematic diagram of a single Server system for deployingthe Back-end Information Network,

FIG. 11C is a schematic diagram of a Back-end Information NetworkInfrastructure consisting of multiple server systems,

FIG. 12A illustrates OWL's fully interactive, live updated Front-endHuman Interface (FHI) provided by various embodiments of the invention,

FIGS. 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D, 13E, 13F, 13G, 13H, 13I, 13K and 13L depictsystem flow diagrams that illustrate the functionality of the Front-endHuman Interface shown in FIG. 12A,

FIG. 14A shows an abstract illustration of Electronic Commerce,

FIG. 14B illustrates how one embodiment of the invention deliversadvertisements Offerings to the Consumer separate but along with thechosen channels, forwarding a Consumers purchase request to an externalProduct Provider, which is taking over and finalizing the sale outsidethe Consumer Access System,

FIG. 14C illustrates an embodiment of the invention handlingtransactions of the Electronic Commerce,

FIG. 14D shows the dynamics the Back-end Information Network handles inits Dynamic Advertisement Module,

FIG. 15A is a diagram illustrating dependencies of the Front-end HumanInterface,

FIG. 16A is a block diagram illustrating the multiple displayscapability of various embodiments of the invention,

FIG. 16B depicts the assimilation of multiple access devices into theVirtual Access Environment,

FIG. 17A illustrates the FHI's ability to handle multiple AssetOfferings, from all around the world,

FIG. 18A is an illustration of the default windows provided by the FHI'sat the Consumer's Access Device such as a Personal Computer;

FIG. 19A illustrates the Companion Window of FIG. 18A;

FIG. 20A illustrates the Monitor Window of the FHI;

FIG. 21A illustrates the OnScreen Window feature of the FHI; and

FIG. 22A illustrates an expanded view of several Windows depicting thefact, that the number of Windows is only limited by the capabilities ofthe Consumer's Access Device, here the Display attached to his PersonalComputer.

DEFINITION OF TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS

-   Our World Live's Technology in accordance with various embodiments    of this-   Consumer Access invention for providing very enhanced worldwide    real-time-   System (CAS) availability of Consumer access to and handling of    Asset and business logic Offerings, encompassing all existing and    future kinds of asset types, access device types and infrastructures    in use.-   Consumer Private or Enterprise end-user of the services offered    through an installed Consumer Access System-   Asset Provider Deploys Our World Live's Consumer Access System in    order to provide real-time integration of assets, services and    consumers-   Asset In various embodiments, a variety of Assets can be integrated    and handled:    -   Categories of possible Assets can be categorized as but are not        restricted to:        -   Cat. A. Video and/or Audio assets, live, recorded or stored            such as Video Conferences, TV Channels or Programs,            Advertisements or Product Offerings, Events or Performances            or Reports or Shows, Art or Musical or Operatic or Stage            Presentations        -   Cat. B. Graphics, live, recorded or stored such as 2D and 3D            objects, 2D and 3D wireframes, 2D and 3D vector based            objects, 2D and 3D graphs, 2D and 3D live rendered        -   Cat. C. Script, live, recorded or stored such as            Forms/Tables, Text, Chat, (e) mail, Advertisement, Stock            Quotes, Presentations        -   Cat. D. Functionality, live, recorded or stored such as Data            Access & Control, Transactions, Purchase, Navigation,            Software Applications, Business Legacy Systems (such as from            SAP, PeopleSoft, etc. . . . )        -   Cat. E. Remote Device Access & Control, any Access Device            can become an Asset to be remotely accessed and controlled;            online (the Asset is connected and is directly accessed) or            offline (the Asset is not connected). If the Asset is            offline, the Consumer accesses a virtual copy of it creating            cached information, which is automatically (with no further            Consumer interaction required) executed once the Asset is            online again.        -   Cat. F. Local Device Access & Control; When deployed on an            Access Device, the Front-end Human Interface (FHI) software            program can also enable functionalities of the resident            Access Device and in this respect it can in fact make the            interface or Operating System of the Access Device            redundant. For example a Consumer can use the installed FHI            to access and view a DVD video on his Personal Computer            (PC), whether the DVD player is built-in or attached to his            PC. The Front-end Human Interface software program installed            on the PC enables the Consumer to override the Operating            System and access all the DVD functionalities through the            FHI.-   Asset Offer, Asset One or more Assets integrated by the Asset    Provider in Our-   Offering World Live's Consumer Access System and becoming available    for the Asset related functionalities of the system.-   Offering See Asset Offer, Asset Offering-   Asset Infrastructure The infrastructure that a given Asset is    embedded in plus the infrastructure that connects the Asset to the    infrastructure that the Back-end Information Network (BIN) is    residing on. For example in case of a digitized movie clip, the    Asset Infrastructure encompasses the server it is residing on plus    the server's Broadcasting or Delivery Infrastructure that is    providing the connection to the BIN's infrastructure.-   Access Device In various embodiments, the User Interface can be    deployed on any kind of connected device (stationary or mobile),    including wired as well as wirelessly connected devices, without any    dependency on a specific device hardware platform or operating    system.    -   Categories of possible Access Device can be categorized as but        are not restricted to:        -   Cat. A. Information System Devices, such as Personal            Computers, Mainframe Computers, Workstations, Industrial            Information Devices, Vending Machines, Information            Terminals, Network/Internet Appliances        -   Cat. B. Portable Information System Devices such as            Notebooks, Industrial Information Devices, Car/Boat/Flight            Navigation & Information Systems, Personal/Pocket Navigation            & Information Systems, Network/Internet Appliances        -   Cat. C. Handheld Information System Devices such as Pocket            PCs, eBooks, Game-Boys, Industrial Information Devices (i.e.            UPS using Wireless Data Devices), Personal Digital            Assistants, Network/Internet Appliances        -   Cat. D. Home & Entertainment Devices such as Game Consoles,            Set-Top Boxes, Television Sets, Video Cassette Recorders,            DVD Players, Video Cameras, Car Entertainment Centers,            Network/Internet Entertainment Appliances        -   Cat. E. Home Appliances such as Microwaves, Stoves,            Refrigerators, Ovens, Dishwashers, Coffee machines, Air            Conditioning and Heating Systems, Car Heating Systems,            Sprinklers, Pools, Jacuzzis, Saunas, Blinds, Lights, Alarm            and Security Systems, Home Control Devices, Network/Internet            Home Appliances        -   Cat. F. Communication System Devices such as            Wireless/Cellular Phones, Radio Phones, Smart Phones,            Landline Phones and Systems        -   Cat. G. Audio Entertainment Devices such as MP3 Players,            Home/Car/Boat/Flight Stereo Systems, CD Players-   Access Device When the Access Device connects to the Consumer Access-   Adaptable System, the system automatically identifies the specific    device type, assembles dynamically the User Interface software    program optimized to the technical specifications of the Access    Device and deploys it into the device-   Access Device The infrastructure that a given Access Device is    embedded-   Infrastructure in plus the infrastructure that connects the Access    Device to the infrastructure that the Back-end Information Network    (BIN) is residing on. For example in case of a Cellular Phone, the    Access Device Infrastructure encompasses the cellular network it is    connected to plus the network's Broadcasting or Delivery    Infrastructure providing the connection to the BIN's infrastructure.-   Back-end Information The Back-end Information Network (BIN)    comprises-   Network (BIN) software modules and applications to provide the    functionalities of various embodiments of Our World Live's Consumer    Access System.-   Back-end Information The Infrastructure that the Back-end    Information Network-   Network Infrastructure (BIN) is residing on. The BIN is typically    distributed over one or more clusters of servers, but can also be    deployed on a single server system. The server operating systems can    be, but are not restricted to, UNIX, LINUX, JAVA, Microsoft Windows    NT or Apple Mac OS X Server. Alternatively it can even be    embedded (1) in a single Access Device such as a DVD jukebox    allowing the Consumer to control the device and use all    functionalities as provided through the Front-end Human Interface    or (2) in a part of an Asset Infrastructure itself such as on a    Video DVD, rendering any DVD Access Device such as a DVD player,    Game-Console or Personal Computer, into a complete standalone    Consumer Access System, allowing the Consumer to access and display    the contained entertainment Offerings through the Front-end Human    Interface with all BIN functionalities, such as online advertisement    enabled.-   Broadcasting or Delivery Any kind of existing or future broadcasting    or delivery-   Infrastructure technology in use for the transmission of data that    can be categorized as but is not restricted to    -   Cat. A. Internet networks, such as the Word Wide Web and TCP/IP        based networks, both wired and wireless.    -   Cat. B. Communication and telecommunication networks, such as        Satellite, Cable and Radio based networks.    -   Cat. C. Network services, such as RTP or RTSP streaming or as        provided by internet service providers such as Akamai and iBeam.    -   Cat. D. Internal data-buses, such as system buses in Personal        Computers enabling the internal data transfers.    -   Cat. E. Asset Infrastructures    -   Cat. F. Access Device Infrastructures    -   Cat. G. Back-end Information Network Infrastructures-   BootLink The Consumer activating the simple BootLink software starts    the Access Device deployment process in order to gain access to the    Our World Live's Consumer Access System and is typically specific to    the infrastructures it is installed on, such as an URL for allowing    the Consumer to enter the Consumer Access System over the World Wide    Web.-   Front-end Human The User Interface (UI) to Our World Live's Consumer-   Interface (FHI) Access System technology enables Asset Providers to    provide and control their Asset Offerings and the Consumer to access    them. In various embodiments of the invention, software is object    oriented and dynamically assembled to support the specifications of    various Access Device and Asset Offerings. In various embodiments,    the Front-end Human Interface is automatically deployed both as a    graphical user interface as well as a user interface without    graphics, based on settings of, for example, the Access Device    capabilities or the Consumer preferences.-   Asset Access Interface Enables Asset Provider to connect their    Assets to the Consumer Access System.-   Object Storage Stores Front-end Human Interface Cores (FHIC), Asset    Device Functionality Objects, Asset Functionality Objects and    Back-end Information Network Functionality Objects of the Front-end    Human Interface (FHI).-   Front-end Human Comprises common interface software objects, becomes-   Interface Core (FHIC) dynamically part of a given Front-end Human    Interface and is used for the deployment of a fully functional    Front-end Human Interface. It can also advantageously include part    of or all of the software specific to a single Access Device    hardware, platform or operating system.-   Back-end Information Software object, residing in the Object    Storage, becomes-   Network Functionality dynamically part of a given Front-end Human    Interface and-   Object enables Back-end Information Network functionalities-   Asset Functionality Software object, residing in the Object Storage,    becomes-   Object dynamically part of a given Front-end Human Interface and    enables Asset Device specific functionalities to the Back-end    Information Network such as control functions of a specific Video    Cassette Recorder.-   Access Device Software object, residing in the Object Storage,    becomes-   Functionality Objects dynamically part of a given Front-end Human    Interface and enables specific functionalities of a given Access    Device to the Back-end Information Network and therefore making    those functionalities accessible using the Front-end Human    Interface, deployed on this Access Device.-   User Interface The Front-end Human Interface software program is the    User

Interface to Our World Live's Consumer Access System technology, and isdeployed both as a graphical user interface as well as User Interfacewithout graphics.

-   OWLed Asset An OWLed Asset is the Offering of a single Asset such as    a single event, for example the transmissions from a football game,    using Our World Live's Consumer Access System technologies. In    contrast to a typical television broadcast, where the Consumer only    can see one picture, which is live mixed out of the available    cameras, an OWLed Asset transmits the output of all available    cameras in the station to the Consumer.-   Window The basic component of the Front-end Human Interface being    displayed on the Consumer's Access Devices' Screen, enabling the    Consumer to interact with the Consumer Access System.-   Companion Window Window-type of the Front-end Human Interface    software application. The main Window for navigation and control of    one or more Asset Offerings of one or more Asset Providers, such as    displaying a map of a single OWLed football event showing all    available camera angles for navigation and control.-   OnScreen Window Window-type of the Front-end Human Interface    software application. The main Window for accessing a single OWLed    Asset in the Highest available Detail, such as displaying video in    highest available resolution and quality.-   High Detail (HD) The highest level of detail that Asset Offerings    are provided in, typically displayed in OnScreen Windows, such as    videos displayed in highest the available resolution.-   Low Detail (LD) A low level of detail that Asset Offerings are    provided in, typically displayed in Monitor Windows, such as videos    displayed in low resolution.-   Monitor Window Window-type of the Front-end Human Interface software    application. Multiple Monitor Windows for displaying several Assets    with less detailed information, such as multiple videos in low    resolution.-   Display The part of a given Access Device hardware dedicated to    display information. For displaying its information the Front-end    Human Interface is able to use an unlimited number of Displays    connected to the Access Device on which it is executed.-   Screen The area on a given Display, effectively available for    displaying information.-   Screen Layout The tools Invisible Grid, Window Margins, Magnetic-   Alignment Tool Borders and Auto Align are functionalities of the    Front-end Human Interface and support the Consumer in arranging the    Windows and “cleaning up” his or her Screen. The tools not only work    on one Screen but across all Screens connected to a single Access    Device and also across all Access Devices, which are part of one    Virtual Access Environment.-   Invisible Grid A functionality of the Front-end Human Interface and    part of the Screen layout Alignment Tool. Once activated by the    Consumer all windows snap into place relative to the grid, as soon    as they are dragged.-   Window Margins A functionality of the Front-end Human Interface and    part of the Screen Layout Alignment Tool. Once activated by the    Consumer all windows snap into places with selected margins to each    other, as soon as they are dragged.-   Magnetic Borders A functionality of the Front-end Human Interface    and part of the Screen Layout Alignment Tool. Once activated by the    Consumer all windows snap into place relative to each other, as soon    as they are dragged.-   Auto Align A functionality of the Front-end Human Interface and part    of the Screen Layout alignment Tool. Once activated by the Consumer    all windows are resized and/or moved according to the Consumer's    preferences.-   Legacy System All information resources currently existing in an    Enterprise such as mainframe and personal computers, information    terminals, networks, databases, operating systems, application    programs and all other forms of hardware and software that an    Enterprise uses to perform its operations.-   Enterprise A private or public entity such as a government,    corporation, religious entity, home or individual that can enable    access to its Assets through OWL's Consumer Access System,-   Virtual Access The Front-end Human Interface can span across    multiple-   Environment (VAE) Access Devices, creating for the Consumer one    single Virtual Access Environment in which the Consumer can freely    layout the parts of the Front-end Human Interface across all Screens    of the assimilated Access Devices.-   Real-time Display All information displayed to the Consumer through    the Front-end Human Interface, is dynamically provided by the    Back-end Information Network (BIN). The actions needed to update all    information are automatically executed by the BIN, whenever possible    prior to a Consumer's request. Consumer actions in the FHI are    executed by the BIN, which provides immediate input response to the    Consumer, concurrent updates of the action's progress and finally    the result.-   Asset Availability The Back-end Information Network (BIN)    dynamically-   Information generates, updates and provides the Consumer in    real-time with instant information regarding a specific Asset being    available to the Consumer or not. The BIN is able to handle a    variety of rules and definitions that can cause an Asset to be    available or become unavailable to the Consumer which can be    categorized as but are not restricted to:    -   Cat. A. Asset is available for Access    -   Cat. B. Asset is generally not available for Access, because (1)        the Asset is switched off or offline, not active or        connected, (2) the Asset is deactivated in the BIN, as no active        service is provided, (3) one of the Infrastructure in use does        not support access to the Asset    -   Cat. C. Asset is specifically not available to the requesting        Consumer, because (1) one of the Infrastructure in use has        exceeded its limitations and can temporarily not support the        Consumer's request, i.e. the maximum number of streaming server        licenses is exceeded, (2) the Asset Provider does not deploy the        needed Asset Type support for the Front-end Human Interface        (FHI) specific to the Access Device in use, (3) the requested        Asset and the Consumer's Access Device in use are not        compatible, for example the Consumer's device is only capable of        audio and the requested Asset provides video only, (4) the Asset        is blocked to the requesting Consumer in the BIN and requires        further Consumer action, for example Pay-per-view, deactivate        Parental Guidance, set preferences to allow automatic        connection, authenticate Consumer, (5) the Asset is blocked to        the requesting Consumer in the BIN because of restrictions such        as region codes, copyrights, export restrictions, legal or        political reasons.-   Asset Status Information The Back-end Information Network (BIN)    dynamically generates, updates and provides the Consumer in    real-time with instant information detailing a specific Asset's    availability. The provided Status Information can be categorized as    but is not restricted to:    -   Cat. A. Available Asset options related to the Consumer's        current Access Device in use, such as available video resolution        qualities and accessible video Broadcasting or Delivery        infrastructures.    -   Cat. B. Available Asset options related to all Access Devices of        the specific Consumer, which are known to the BIN and are (1)        currently active part of the Consumer's current Virtual Access        Environment, (2) currently active as Assets or (3) currently        inactive/not available to the BIN    -   Cat. C. Available Asset options for the currently active        Consumer Authentication, such as Parental Guidance or        Pay-per-view    -   Cat. D. Next scheduled availability    -   Cat. E. Next expected availability, for example based on        statistical calculations on the current Infrastructure load, the        Consumer can schedule an automatic connection once the Asset        becomes available again.    -   Cat. F. Unavailability details as determined for determining the        Availability Information-   Asset Profiling The Back-end Information Network (BIN) dynamically-   Information generates, updates and provides the Consumer in    real-time with instant information detailing a specific Asset's    profile in order to help the Consumer decide which Asset to choose.    The supported Profiling Information can be based on but is not    restricted to real-time calculations of current and historic Asset    access statistics, such as Consumers with similar characteristics to    those of the accessing Consumer (1) set in the preferences of the    Front-end Human Interface (FHI) or (2) derived from usage profiles    collected by the Consumer Tracking. In an example the Consumer is    about to choose between 700 different broadcast TV channels. Based    on his characteristic preference for Science Fiction the FHI    highlights those channels, which are viewed by other Consumers with    similar characteristics. The BIN sums up the total number of current    Consumers matching the Consumer's characteristics and calculates    their split among the watched TV channels. The FHI provides this    number and percentage information along with the TV channels. In    addition the FHI allows to sort the TV channels by the provided    Profiling Information, enabling a meaningful ranking.-   Dynamic Front-end All objects of the Front-end Human Interface (FHI)    can be-   Human Interface changed in the Back-end Information Network (BIN) by    the-   Program Update Asset Provider at any time becoming instantly    available and can be dynamically updated to all FHIs in use.-   Dynamic FHI Content All contents to be displayed by the Front-end    Human-   Update Interface (FHI) can be changed in the Back-end Information    Network (BIN) by the Asset Provider at any time becoming instantly    available and can be dynamically updated to all FHIs in use.-   Codec, Data Codec Technologies for electronically coding and    decoding data. Within Our World Live's Consumer Access System. The    supported Codecs can be categorized as but are not restricted to    -   Cat. A. Audio/Video Codecs, such as Real Networks Audio and        Video Codecs, Microsoft Media Technologies, Apple QuickTime,        Digital Video, IEEE 1394, MPEG and MP3    -   Cat. B. Data, Graphics & Text Codecs, such as PICT, CCITT, BMP,        PDF, EPS, RDF, XML, SMIL, HTML, CSS, DOM    -   Cat. C. Encryption Codecs, such as RSA, DES, Triple DES, CAST,        IDEA and SSL-   Electronic Commerce Electronically enabled business transactions and    processes.-   Commerce Integration Our World Live's Consumer Access System    enabling one or more Legacy Systems of one or more Enterprises to    automatically and interactively participate in automated and    collaborative Electronic Commerce processes. Turning the    Enterprises' Legacy Systems into OWL'ed Assets enables combined and    shared Asset Offerings of one or more Enterprises such as automatic    and secure billing, invoicing, production planning, inventory    forecasting, money transfers and revenue splitting.-   Access Device Tracking Automatic monitoring and cataloguing of all    Access Device transactions, such as usage, performance and Consumer    interactions, that help build and maintain a dynamic Access Device    specific profile.-   Asset Tracking Automatic monitoring and cataloguing of all Asset    transactions, such as usage, performance and Consumer interactions,    that help build and maintain a dynamic Asset specific profile.-   Consumer Tracking Automatic monitoring and cataloguing of all    Consumer transactions, such as accessing Assets, using Access    Devices and Interactions, that help build and maintain a dynamic    Consumer specific profile.-   Performance The Back-end Information Network continuously measures-   Surveillance the performance throughout the whole Consumer Access

System and continuously surveys the overall end-to-end performance ofall active connections (Access Device performance—Access DeviceInfrastructure performance—BIN performance—Asset Infrastructureperformance—Asset performance). Dynamic Load-balancing The Back-endInformation Network (BIN) performs its functions in truly parallelprocesses and thus is a fully multitasked environment. When using morethan one server system or processor, in various embodiments, the BINautomatically balances its load by spreading its tasks throughout to theavailable computing resources. As an example, if the load is increaseddue to high demand on the Assets, to the point where the availableresources reach their limits, by a simple addition of more serversystems and their introduction to the system, the BIN automaticallyextends its processes and balances the overall load.

-   -   Adjusting to the needs and capabilities of the currently used        Broadcasting or Delivery Infrastructure and the Consumers Access        Device, in various embodiments the BIN also load-balances the        tasks and functionalities requested by the Consumer. Based on        end-to-end performance measuring the BIN dynamically balances        the load between Access Device and its server systems. For        example in case of a limiting Broadcasting or Delivery        Infrastructure and or an Access Device with limited computing        power, the BIN executes more functionality itself and        advantageously delivers only the results to the Access Device of        the Consumer. If the Broadcasting or Delivery Infrastructure is        highly capable and the Access Device provides higher computing        resources than available to the BIN, the BIN transmits more        functionality to the Access Device, where execution performance        is now higher.

-   Localization, Automatic Various embodiments of this invention    provide the

-   User Interface automatic Localization of the Front-end Human    Interface

-   Localization based on User Interface and Country Conventions. The    Asset Provider need only design one interface in one Localization    and Our World Live's Consumer Access System automatically provides    all other Localizations.

-   User Interface The rules and definitions for Localizations within    Our World

-   Conventions Live's Consumer Access System describing and containing    the Script Behavior, Interface Layout and Interface Behavior for one    or more countries, languages or cultures.

-   Script Behavior The rules and definitions for Localization within    Our World Live's Consumer Access System describing and containing    the behavior of a localized script can be categorized as but are not    restricted to    -   Cat. A. Roman, text written from left to right    -   Cat. B. Arabic, text written right to left    -   Cat. B. Asian, text written top to bottom

-   Interface Layout The rules and definitions for Localizations within    Our World Live's Consumer Access System describing and containing    the composition of the localized Front-end Human Interface layout    such as the orientation of objects within Windows, color schemes and    Window shapes.

-   Interface Behavior The rules and definitions for Localizations    within Our World Live's Consumer Access System describing and    containing the behavior of a localized Front-end Human Interface    such as responses to Consumer interactions.

-   Country Conventions The rules and definitions for Localizations    within Our World Live's Consumer Access System describing and    containing Alphabet, Language, Language Attributes such as date,    time and currency formats for one or more countries, languages, or    cultures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The screen shot of FIG. 1A illustrates several features of variousembodiments of the invention. The screen display (FIG. 1A) illustrates aDisplay of the Olympic games. In the largest Screen region 1A.01, adetailed real-time “OnScreen” view of the soccer game is shown in realtime. A map showing the venue of the several games underway is shown inthe somewhat smaller Companion Window Screen region 1A.06. The Consumercan interactively select which event will be shown on the OnScreenWindow Screen region 1A.02 by moving the cursor on the Companion WindowScreen region 1A.06. In the example shown, the stadium 1A.07 has beenselected at which the game shown in region 1A.02 is being played. Alsoincluded in the screen display (FIG. 1A) are five smaller Monitor WindowScreen regions 1A.09 a, 1A.09 b, 1A.09 c, 1A.09 d and 1A.09 e which showfive different events occurring in real time at five different venues atthis Olympic game.

As described below, the Monitor Window Screen regions are also used toshow the same game being displayed on the larger OnScreen Window Screenregion 1A.02 from additional video cameras all typically located atdifferent locations in the same stadium.

The overall Consumer Access System of various embodiments of theinvention is shown in FIG. 2B. A plurality of video cameras 2B.01 a,2B.01 b and 2B.01 c are typically located at venues for sports events,theater events, musical events, or the like. Although for simplicitythree cameras are shown, there can be a fewer or greater number ofcameras depending upon the facility used for broadcasting.

These cameras 2B.01 a, 2B.01 b and 2B.01 c are advantageously theidentical cameras already being utilized for regular televisionbroadcasting. As a result, various embodiments of this invention can beimplemented world wide without a major investment in acquiring orinstalling video cameras. Rather, a parallel feed from each cameraalready used for television broadcasting is connected to a plurality ofvideo compression encoders 2B.02 a (labeled as Encoding Phalanx #01, 02,03, . . . ). By way of example, cameras 2B.01 a, 2B.01 b and 2B.01 c arecable connected to the encoders 2B.02 whereas a camera 2B.01 d isconnected by a wireless local area network (LAN) 2B.03 to another videocompression encoder 2B.02 b. Camera 2B.01 d can, for example, be locatedat the same venue as cameras 2B.01 a-2B.01 c but can also be located ata different venue such as is illustrated in the screen display of FIG.1A.

The outputs of the encoders 2B.02 a and 2B.02 b are routed by a router2B.04 over a suitable communication line 2B.05 to router 2B.06 whichconnects the video signals to multiple streaming computer servers 2B.07shown in detail in FIG. 4B. In the embodiment shown, the video signalsare also supplied to separate a high bandwidth network 2B.08 such as isavailable from Akamai, Intervu or iBeam.

-   -   The individual subscriber client's Access Device is shown in the        FIG. 2B as an Access Device of the type Information System        Device such as a personal computer (PC). Shown are two different        types of PC's 2B.11, 2B.12 connected at 2B.10 a, 2B.10 b in a        normal manner to the world wide web or Internet 2B.09 by, for        example, telephone lines, cable, or satellite. These PC's 2B.11,        2B.11 are connected by the world wide web 2B.09 to the streaming        servers 2B.07 which as described below, contain OWL's Front-end        Human Interface (FHI) software.

It will be further understood that additional video cameras 2B.01 andencoders 2B.02 are advantageously located at facilities located aroundthe world so that the Consumer at the PC's 2B.11, 2B.12 can call upevents occurring in real time all over the world. Thus, each of theencoders 2B.02 is adapted for the particular television signal beingproduced by the local video camera such as High Definition Television,NTSC, PAL, etc. so the video signals are viewable over the Internet onPC's located anywhere in the world.

-   -   In various embodiments of the invention, the user client        initially connects to the streaming server (SS Phalanx) 2B.07        through an ISP and obtains portal Companion Window display of        the content Companion on the Consumer's Access Device 2B.11 or        2B.12. Using this content Companion, the Access Device transmits        pointers over the world wide Internet 2B.09 to the network 2B.08        which responds to the Consumers requests and transmits the        appropriate video signals from the network 2B.08 over the world        wide Internet 33 to the Access Device 2B.11 or 2B.12.

It will be understood that another embodiment of the present inventiondoes not use a high bandwidth network 2B.08. Instead, the pointersproduced at the Access Devices 2B.11, 2B.12 would be directlytransmitted over the Internet 2B.09 to the streaming servers 2B.07 andthese servers would supply the video signals to the Consumer's AccessDevices 2B.11, 2B.12 via the Internet 2B.09.

A detailed block diagram of the encoder 2B.02 is illustrated in FIG. 3B.As shown, by way of example, encoder 2B.02 a is connected to camera2B.02 a. The video signal supplied by the television broadcast camera2B.01 a is connected to a series of video compression encoders forsupplying video signals of varying resolution and frequency bandwidthsto the streaming servers 2B.07 of FIG. 2B via router 2B.04.

-   -   As shown, the compression encoders advantageously provide a high        resolution output and a low resolution output for a plurality of        Internet delivery channels. Thus, the lowest bandwidth channel        3B.01 for a 56K modem includes a high 40K resolution channel        3B.03 and a low 4K resolution channel 3B.02 for the video signal        from camera 2B.01 a. Similarly, the next higher or 128K        bandwidth channel 3B.04 includes a 50K high resolution channel        3B.06 and a low resolution channel 3B.05 for the video signal        from camera 2B.01 a. The highest bandwidth channel 3B.07 is        designed to supply a 768K bandwidth channel with a high        resolution 45K channel 3B.09 and a low resolution 50K channel        3B.08 from camera 2B.01 a. Referring to FIG. 1A, depending upon        the capacity of the Internet connection to the Access Device        2B.01, 2B.02, the low resolution channel will be used to provide        the Monitor Windows 2B.09 a, 2B.09 b, 2B.09 c, 2B.09 d and 2B.09        e and the high resolution channel will be used to provide the        OnScreen Window 1A.01. As a result, each Access Device, whether        it has only a 56K modem or is supplied over a 768K DSL service        (or higher in the future) is able to have simultaneous viewing        of a high resolution real time video in the OnScreen Window        1A.02 and a plurality of low resolution real time video in the        Monitor Windows 2B.09 a, 2B.09 b, 2B.09 c, 2B.09 d and 2B.09 e.

Although the specific embodiments described include a single highresolution OnScreen Window, other embodiments of the invention provideone or more additional high resolution channels depending upon thebandwidth of the Broadcasting or Delivery Infrastructure in use and theeffective Screen size of the Access Device's Display. Thus, one suchembodiment provides a pair or more of side-by-side OnScreen highresolution Windows as well as plural low resolution Monitor Windows.

-   -   The manner in which a plurality of Asset Providers around the        world are connected in various embodiments of the invention to        supply Access Devices 2B.11 or 2B.12 is illustrated in the block        diagram of FIG. 5. Shown are three Asset Providers 5A.01 a/b/c,        e.g., ABC, Fox, NBC and CBS which own or control the television        cameras 2B.01 a-d shown in FIG. 2. Some of the main features of        this interface are: (1) all available video channels are        presented to the Consumers Access Devices; (2) each Consumer can        interactively select at any time any one channel as the high        resolution “OnScreen” Window 1A.01; (3) each Consumer can        interactively select multiple channels to provide the Monitor        channels 1A.09 a, 1A.09 b, 17, 1A.09 c, 1A.09 d and 1A.09 e of        FIG. 1A; and (4) the system delivers a channel interactive        advertisement that links the Consumers request with an        electronic commerce service.

The function of several of the different blocks in this system diagramsand flow charts are described below:

-   1A.01 is the OnScreen Window type, fully interactive, continuously    updated, corresponding with the other Windows 1A.01, 1A.05, 1A.08    a/b, 12A.07;-   1A.02 is the high-detail content displayed in the OnScreen Window    (1A.01);-   1A.03 indicates the area for displaying advertising of any kind;-   1A.04 indicates the Personal Video Functionalities of the OnScreen    Window (1A.01). This area includes several buttons such as “Play”,    “Stop” “Fast Forward”, “Rewind”, “Volume”, “Menu” and so on;-   1A.05 is the Companion Window type;-   1A.06 depicts the content of the Companion Window;-   1A.07 is a highlighted Asset Offer in the Companion Window (1A.06);-   1A.08 indicates the Monitor Window type;-   1A.08 a, b, c, . . . are the various Monitor Windows;-   1A.09 is the content, displayed in the Monitor Window;-   1A.09 a, b, c, . . . indicate various content that is displayed in    the Monitor Windows;-   1G.01 is an example of a Script Asset type;-   1G.02 Is an example of a Data Control type for the Companion Window;-   1G.03 is an example of the Forms type;-   1G.04 is the Master Companion representing the link to the Companion    Window type (1A.05). The Master Companion is a Companion Window    itself;-   1H.01 shows two OnScreen Windows displaying different Assets: A    movie (with related Advertising) and a data worksheet;-   1H.02 is an example of the Data Worksheet type;-   1H.03 is a content example for the Companion Window (1.A.05),    enabling access to a sample of Home Entertainment Devices;-   1H.04 is a bigger version of the Monitor Window type hosting the    control panel for a Home Entertainment Device;-   1J.01 is an example content for the Companion Window (1A.05),    showing a map with multiple cameras;-   1J.02 is a smaller version of the Companion Window type (1A.05);-   1K.01 is the Monitor Window type for a display of a Palm Pilot 111C;-   1K.02 indicates one solution for the Master Companion for the Palm    Pilot IIIC;-   1K.03 shows the OnScreen Window type containing a Data Worksheet;-   1L.01 indicates the Companion for a Handheld Device;-   1L.02 is the Monitor Window type for a Handheld Device;-   1L.03 is an OnScreen Window, showing a Data Worksheet;-   1L.04 is a Monitor Window showing Real-Time Stock Quote Information,    including an Input Form to request specific Stock Quotes;-   1L.05 Shows an OnScreen Window, displayed in 90° counter-clockwise    rotation;-   1L.06 indicates the area for displaying advertising of any kind on a    Handheld device;-   1M.01 Is a Monitor Window to remote control an Asset: your home VCR;-   1N.01 is an OnScreen Window type for Access Devices running the EPOC    operating system, such as the Ericsson R380 cellular phone or the    Nokia 9210 Communicator;-   1N.02 is a Monitor Window type for Access Devices running the EPOC    operating system;-   1N.03 is a Companion Window type for Access Devices running the EPOC    operating system;-   1N.04 shows the area in the OnScreen Window for displaying    advertising of any kind;-   1N.05 Show various representation of the Monitor Window type for    Access Devices running the EPOC operating system;-   1N.06 Is a Monitor Window to remote control an Asset: your home VCR;-   1P.01 Show the Companion Type window, depicting a map of an Olympic    stadium with several cameras;-   1P.02 Shows a Monitor Window type containing an Advertising Offer;-   1P.03 Shows the OnScreen Window Type, displaying the “100 m Women's    Final” camera video stream of a live sports event;-   1P.04 Depicts the area for any kind of Advertising in the OnScreen    Window (1P.03);-   1P.05 Is a Monitor Window showing the “Long Jump” camera video    stream of a live sports event;-   1P.06 Is a Monitor Window showing the “Women's High Jump” camera    video stream;-   1R.01 Shows the Palm Pilot 111 c Screen, containing a Master    Companion and a Companion with a map. The map shows an Olympic    stadium with several cameras;-   1R.02 Shows an OnScreen Window type on a PC, containing the “100 m    Women's Final” camera video stream of a live sports event;-   1R.03 Shows a Monitor Window type on a PC, containing the “Women's    High Jump” camera video stream of a live sports event;-   1S.01 Shows a Companion Window type on a PocketPC, containing the    map of an Olympic stadium with several cameras;-   1S.02 Shows an OnScreen Window type on a PC, containing the “100 m    Women's Final” camera video stream of a live sports event;-   1S.03 Shows a Monitor Window Type on a PocketPC, containing the    “Long Jump” camera video stream of a sports event;-   1S.04 Shows a Monitor Window type on a PC, containing the “Women's    High Jump” camera video stream of a live sports event;-   1Y.01 is an OnScreen Window type for a Television Display or a large    EPOC Screen;-   1Y.02 is a Monitor Window type for a Television Display or a large    EPOC Screen;-   1Y.03 is a Companion Window type for a Television Display or a large    EPOC Screen;-   1Y.04 is one solution for the Master Companion for a Television    Display or a large EPOC Screen;-   1Z.01 is an OnScreen Window type for a Cellular Phone with EPOC-OS;-   1Z.02 is another version of the OnScreen Window type for a Cellular    Phone with EPOC-OS used for 16:9 format Films;-   1Z.03 Indicates the area for Advertising;-   1Z.04 is one solution for the Master Companion for a Cellular Phone    with EPOC-OS;-   1Z.05 is a Companion Window type for a Cellular Phone with EPOC-OS;-   1Z.06 is a Monitor Window type for a Cellular Phone with EPOC-OS;-   2A.01 a-2A.01 d Shows the Assets #1, #2 . . . ;-   2A.02 Is the Communication Infrastructure;-   2A.03 Represents the Back-end Information Network;-   2A.04 is the Broadcast or Delivery Infrastructure;-   2A.05 shows the Consumer's Access Device;-   2A.06 is the Consumer's Local Asset;-   2B.01 a-2B.01 d is the sum of the video content provided by a single    original parallel video and/or audio signal from the Asset Provider    5A.01 b;-   2B.02 a/b The Encoding Phalanx;-   2B.03 A Wireless Transmission from LAN to LAN;-   2B.04 A Router connecting to the next network;-   2B.05 A Communication Line between two routers or networks;-   2B.06 A Router connecting to the next network;-   2B.07 The Streaming Server Phalanx;-   2B.08 The Akamai Network as a worldwide delivery network;-   2B.09 The Internet;-   2B.10 a/b The Internet Connection of the Access Device;-   2B.11 A Computer running Mac OS as an Access Device;-   2B.12 A Computer running Windows 98 as an Access Device;-   2C.01 a-2C.01 f Categories of Asset types known to the Back-end    Information Network;-   2C.02 a-2C.02 f Categories of Access Devices known to the Back-end    Information Network;-   2D.01 Represents the Back-end Information Network Infrastructure;-   2D.02 Represents the Asset Infrastructure;-   2D.03 Represents the Access Device Infrastructure;-   2E.01 Represents the Access Device Operating System;-   2G.01 Represents a possible Operating System of the Asset-   3A.01 a-3A.01 f Encoding specifications for various target types;-   3B.01 Encoding Systems for the Audience with 56K bandwidth;-   3B.02 Encoder Systems for Monitor #01 for 56K Audience, PowerPC G3    System;-   3B.03 Encoder Systems for Screen #01 for 56K Audience, PowerPC G4    System;-   3B.04 Encoding Systems for the Audience with 128K bandwidth;-   3B.05 Encoder Systems for Monitor #01 for 128K Audience, PowerPC G3    System;-   3B.06 Encoder Systems for Screen #01 for 128K Audience, PowerPC G4    System;-   3B.07 Encoding Systems for the Audience with 768K bandwidth;-   3B.08 Encoder Systems for Monitor #01 for 768K Audience, PowerPC G3    System;-   3B.09 Encoder Systems for Screen #01 for 768K Audience, PowerPC G4    System;-   3B.10 A Network Hub;-   3C.01-3C.06 Various target encoding specifications for different    media, different resolutions and different color capabilities;-   5A.01 a/b/c is the entity having the cameras 2A.01 a/b/c/d/e/f/g/h/i    (FIG. 2) and creating/transmitting Video and/or Audio content, i.e.,    ABC, FOX, CBS or any other party producing video and/or audio    content i.e. a stadium having a Superbowl game or any other event to    be broadcast or transmitted;-   5A.02 represents the compression encoders explained in detail above    and shown in FIGS. 3 and 8;-   5A.03 indicates that the Consumer selects the content of choice he    or she wants to see in the “OnScreen” Window;-   5A.04 indicates receiving the broadcasted or delivered signal 8B.07;-   5A.05 indicates that the Consumer selects the content of choice he    or she wants to see in one of the Monitor Windows;-   5A.06 indicates receiving the broadcast or delivered signal 8B.08;-   5A.07 indicates that an advertisement is received in a predesignated    separate displaying area within OWL's Font-end Human Interface (FHI)    without interfering with or inhibiting the delivery of any content.    The displaying method can be static (i.e. banner) or active (i.e.    streaming video);-   5A.08 indicates Consumer requests of further advertisement related    actions, i.e. link 5A.09, by clicking on the advertisement    displaying area;-   5A.09 is the link by which the request of the Consumer is    automatically and instantly passed together with other relevant    information to a related entity 5A.13 by i.e. passing all needed    information to the FHI (5A.11) so that it automatically connects to    the Product Provider (5A.13), logs onto the External Store Sales    Software (14B.03) and creates a purchase request from the Consumer;-   5A.10 indicates a purchase offer caused by the addressed entity    executing the respective action, i.e. transmitting the purchase    offer created out of the purchase request over link 5A.09;-   5A.11 is the Front-end Human Interface software program, embodiments    preferably in QuickTime and in JAVA;-   5A.12 is the Advertising Provider. It is as well the entity    contracting for advertising space;-   5A.13 Is the Product Provider where the advertised products can be    purchased. (FIG. 14C shows the integration of such a Product    Provider's Store into the Consumer Access System, FIG. 2D);-   6A.01 a/b Shows the Companion Windows of the Asset Providers,    containing their Asset lists;-   6A.02 a/b/c/d/e/f indicates the Asset Selectors, each representing    one

Asset (2A.01 a-2A.01 i) of the Asset Provider represented by theCompanion Window that the Asset Selectors are incorporated in,incorporating two actions

-   12A.05 and 12A.06, fully interactive, continuously updated,    corresponding with the other Windows 1A.01, 1A.05, 1A.08 a/b,    12A.07;-   8B.01 is the original signal from the single Video and/or Audio    source, which can be output by a video single camera or the daily    program broadcast by any channel or source;-   8B.02 is a duplicator/multiplicator device that    duplicates/multiplies the incoming video and/or audio signals,    without any loss, so the signals can be used for two/multiple    simultaneous processes;-   8B.03 indicates that the incoming video and/or audio signal is    encoded and possibly compressed to meet the high-resolution    specifications of the respective embodiment, such as reducing    picture frame size, frame rate and quality to meet a predetermined    high-resolution bandwidth frequency for eventual access by the user    (i.e. ISDN, ADSL, etc.);-   8B.04 is the signal, encoded to be broadcast or delivered in a    predetermined high quality frequency;-   8B.05 indicates that the incoming video and/or audio signal is    encoded and possibly compressed to meet the low-resolution    specifications of the respective embodiment, i.e. reducing picture    frame size, frame rate and quality to meet a predetermined low    quality bandwidth frequency for eventual access by the relevant    frequency user (i.e. ISDN, ADSL, etc.);-   8B.06 is the signal encoded to be broadcast or delivered in a    predetermined low resolution frequency;-   8B.07 is the broadcast or delivered signal coming from the high    resolution encoder 8B.04;-   8B.08 is the broadcast or delivered signal coming from the low    resolution encoder 8B.06;-   9A.01 Is the Object Storage in the Back-end Information Network    (2A.03). It holds all FHIs, Asset Device Functionality Objects,    Asset Functionality Objects and BIN Functionality Objects. In    general, it holds all available objects and functionality;-   9A.02 Is an Asset Device Functionality Object that holds all    available functionality for this kind of Asset Device.-   9A.03 Is an Asset Functionality Object that holds all available    functionality for this kind of Asset;-   9A.04 Is a BIN (2A.03) Functionality Object that holds functionality    to extend and leverage the BIN;-   9A.05 Is the part of the BIN that assembles and processes the    objects stored in the Object Storage (9A.01) to prepare them for    delivery and usage;-   9A.06 The Bootlink or Delivery Request of the Access Device (9A.01)    to the BIN (2A.03) in order to receive the FHI (5A.11) itself or new    Functionality;-   9A.07 The Delivery transmission of the BIN (2A.03) to the FHI    (5A.11), containing the assembled FHI and Functionality;-   9A.08 An Information Request from the BIN (2A.03) to the Access    Device (9A.01);-   9A.09 An Information Response from the Access Device (9A.01) to the    BIN (2A.03);-   9A.10 are the Access Device independent Front-end Human Interface    Cores;-   9A.11 Are the Access Device Specific Front-end Human Interface    Cores;-   9B.01 The request for opening the main application for this Access    Device (9A.01), issued by the Access Device to the BIN (2B.03);-   9B.02 The delivery of the main application and open command from the    BIN (2B.03) to the Access Device (9A.01);-   9C.01 A request for specific technical specifications from the BIN    (2A.03) to the FHI (5A.11);-   9C.02 The response containing the requested specifications from the    FHI (5A.11) back to the BIN (2A.03);-   9C.03 The delivery of an Update or Functionality Objects to the FHI    (5A.11);-   9C.04 The updated or new Functionality Objects are incorporated into    the FHI (5A.11);-   9D.01 The local DVD/CD-ROM device;-   9D.02 A DVD/CD-ROM Functionality Object, stored in the Object    Storage (9A.01) of the BIN (2A.03);-   9D.03 The FHI (5A.11) submits a request for accessing this specific    local DVD/CD-ROM device;-   9D.04 The BIN (2A.03) delivers the DVD/CD-ROM Functionality Object    to the FHI (5A.11);-   9D.05 The DVD/CD-ROM Functionality Module is incorporated into the    FHI (5A.11);-   9E.01 The BIN (2A.03) Sends a Request for Workload/Delegation to the    FHI (5A.11);-   9E.02 The FHI (5A.11) answers to the BIN (2A.03) with a Workload or    Delegation Response;-   9E.03 The BIN (2A.03) delivers the results of a Workload/Delegation    to the FHI (5A.11);-   9F.01 The Operating System of a typical Game Console or Gaming    Station (10D.01);-   9F.02 The Read-Only-Memory (ROM) of a typical Game Console or Gaming    Station (10D.01);-   9F.03 A typical Game Console's or Gaming Station's Video Driver;-   9F.04 The CPU of a typical Game Console or Gaming Station (10D.01);-   9F.05 The Random-Access-Memory (RAM) of a typical Game Console or    Gaming Station (10D.01);-   9F.06 The internal DVD drive of a typical Game Console or Gaming    Station (10D.01);-   9F.07 The internal System or Data Bus of a typical Game Console or    Gaming Station (10D.01) that is used as the Delivery Infrastructure    (2A.04);-   9F.08 The DVD Medium containing the necessary parts of the BIN    (2A.03) for this specific device (a typical Game Console or Gaming    Station, 10D.1);-   9F.09 Show the insertion of the DVD into the DVD Drive (9F.06);-   9F.10 Represents the Data Delivery between the BIN (2A.03) on the    DVD (9F.08) and a typical Game Console or Gaming Station (10D.01);-   10A.01 An input device for the Access Device (9A.01);-   10A.02 A network connection for the Access Device (9A.01);-   10A.03 A Display device for the Access Device (9A.01);-   10B.01 A Display device for the Access Device (9A.01);-   10B.02 The Video Driver of the Access Device (9A.01);-   10B.03 The CPU of the Access Device (9A.01);-   10B.04 A Runtime Environment on the Operating System of the Access    Device (9A.01);-   10B.05 The Operating System of the Access Device (9A.01);-   10B.06 The Read-Only-Memory (ROM) of the Access Device (9A.01);-   10B.07 The Random-Access-Memory (RAM) of the Access Device (9A.01);-   10B.08 The Network Connection of the Access Device (9A.01);-   10B.09 The Keyboard of the Access Device (9A.01);-   10C.01 Represents a Set-Top Box;-   10C.02 Is the Remote Control for the Set-Top Box;-   10C.03 Is the Cable Connection to the Cable Network;-   10C.04 Represents the Television Set;-   10D.01 Represents a typical Game Console or Gaming Station;-   10D.02 Is a typical Game Console or Gaming Station Dual-shock    Controller;-   10D.03 Is the Internet Expansion Module for a typical Game Console    or Gaming Station;-   10D.04 Is the Television Set or Display a typical Game Console or    Gaming Station is connected to;-   10E.01 Is a Refrigerator-   10E.02 Is the Refrigerator's Touchpad;-   10E.03 Represents the Modem connected to the Refrigerator;-   10E.04 Is the Refrigerator's Front Display;-   10F.01 Is a Cellular Phone;-   10F.02 The Cell Phone keypad;-   10F.03 Is the GSM connection of the Cell Phone;-   10F.04 The Cell Phone's Display;-   10G.01 Is the Home Stereo Device;-   10G.02 Is the button control bar of the Home Stereo;-   10G.03 Is the communication Module of the Home Stereo to connect to    the Cable Network;-   10G.04 Is the Home Stereo's Display;-   10H.01 Is the Stand-alone CD Player;-   10H.02 Are the CD Controls on the CD Player;-   10H.03 Is the CD Remote Control;-   10H.04 Is the Communication Module of the CD Player to connect to    the Cable Network;-   10H.05 Is the Home Stereo with speakers to play sound;-   11A.01 represents a Server System;-   11A.02 Is the Input Device of the Server System;-   11A.03 Is the Communication Interface of the Server System;-   11A.04 Is a Display Device connected to the Server System;-   11A.04 Is a Display Device connected to the Server System;-   11B.01 Is the Video Driver in the Server (11A.01);-   11B.02 The Read-Only-Memory (ROM) of the Server (11A.01);-   11B.03 The Random-Access-Memory (RAM) of the Server (11A.01);-   11B.04 The Operating System of the Server (11A.01);-   11B.05 The CPU of the Server (11A.01);-   11B.06 The Network Connection of the Server (11A.01);-   11B.07 The Keyboard of the Server (11A.01);-   11B.08 The Display device connected to the Server (11A.01);-   12A.01 Is a selector that triggers the action of sending the Asset    displayed in this Monitor Window 2 (1A.08 b) to the OnScreen Window    (1A.01). This is shown in detail in FIG. 13F;-   12A.02 Is a selector that triggers the action of sending the Asset    displayed in this OnScreen Window 2 (1A.01) to a Monitor Window.    This is shown in detail in FIG. 13D;-   12A.03 Is a selector that triggers the action of opening the    corresponding Companion to the Asset displayed in this OnScreen    Window 2 (1A.01). This is shown in detail in FIG. 13E;-   12A.04 Is a selector that triggers the action of opening the Master    Companion. This is shown in detail in FIG. 13C.-   12A.05 Is a selector that triggers the action of sending the Asset    of the corresponding Asset 1 Selector (6A.02 a) to the OnScreen    (1A.01);-   12A.06 Is a selector that triggers the action of sending the Asset    of the corresponding Asset 1 Selector (6A.02 a) to a Monitor    (1A.08);-   12A.07 Is the OWL Master Companion Window that offers the choices of    the various Asset Providers 12A.08 a/c;-   12A.08 a Is a selector that triggers the action of opening the Asset    Provider 1 Companion;-   12A.08 c Is a selector that triggers the action of opening the Asset    Provider 3 Companion;-   14A.01 Represents an electronic commerce offering, dealing with    advertising and purchasing;-   14A.02 Is the Consumer;-   14A.03 Is the purchase action of the Consumer that accepted the    Electronic Commerce Offering's Advertising (14A.01, 5A.07);-   14B.01 Is a module that processes advertising requests, assembles    the advertising and delivers it to the FHI (5A.11);-   14B.02 Is an e-commerce store interface of the Product Provider    (5A.13);-   14B.03 Is the sales software of the external product store;-   14C.01 Is the Sales Module of the Product Provider's (5A.13) Store;-   14D.01 Represents the type of Content related advertising, stored    and processed in the BIN (2A.03);-   14D.02 Represents the type of Consumer related advertising, stored    and processed in the BIN (2A.03);-   14D.03 Represents the consumer's advertising preferences that are    stored, used and processed in the BIN (2A.03) to derive more    specific targeted advertising to the Consumer;-   14D.04 Represents the type of scheduled advertising, stored and    processed in the BIN (2A.03);

The User Interface of various embodiments of the invention is theFront-end Human Interface (FHI) 2E. Its software can be located in partsor as a whole (1) on the Consumer's Access Device 2A.05, 2B.11, 2B.12 or(2) on the Back-end Information Network (BIN) 2A.03, 2B.07 of the systemand is dynamically (1) updated or (2) loaded into the Consumer's AccessDevice 2A.05, 2B.11, 2B.12 each time the Consumer connects to thesystem. The FHI is shown generally at 2E in FIGS. 5A and 9A, 9B-F. Itworks conceptually as a true extension to the Back-end InformationNetwork 2A.03 enabling the Consumer to access all the BIN'sfunctionalities using the Access Device 2A.05 and is an integral part ofthe completely object oriented and platform independent software designof various embodiments of the invention 2D, 2A-C. This provides severaladvantages. The Consumer is not required to do any manual softwareinstallation or updates, no matter what the Consumer's language is, 1B,1C, 1D, where the UI software is residing 9A-F, what type of AccessDevice 2C.02 a-g, 2B.11, 2B.12 he or she is using or what kind ofinfrastructures 2D.01-04, 2A.02, 2A.04, 2B.02-10, are currently or inthe future in use. The Back-end Information Network 2A.03, 2B.07 can becontinuously upgraded so that the Consumers always have at their AccessDevice of choice 2A.05, 2B.11, 2B.12, 2C.02 a-g, the latest softwarerelease and all of the latest information regarding the system 2D, 2A-C.

The block diagrams illustrating the versatile and sophisticated AccessDevice Deployment concept with the Front-end Human Interface program5A.11 are shown in FIGS. 9A, 9B, 9C, 9D and 9F.

Front-end Human Interfaces deployed onto an Access Device candynamically updated to support functionalities specific to the AccessDevice it is deployed on (FIG. 9D). These Access Device specificfunctionalities are actually added to those of the Back-end InformationNetwork, as conceptually all functionalities of the Front-end HumanInterface are empowered by the Back-end Information Network. Thereforeany Access Device 10A-H, 2C.02 a-g can become an Asset, 2C.01 a-fproviding Offerings 10A-H to the whole Consumer Access System (FIG. 9G).This also can render any Consumer in an Asset Provider enabling accessto his Offerings.

The diagram 9A shows how a given Front-end Human Interface 5A.11 isdynamically assembled during the boot process from the Front-end HumanInterface Core (FHIC), the Asset Device Functionality Objects, the AssetFunctionality Objects and the Back-end Information Network FunctionalityObjects all specific to the deployment environment in use. Thesesophisticated processes allow the Consumer to use any type of AccessDevice with neither (1) no parts of the software, or (2) with some partsor (3) the entire software that is required to run the Consumer AccessSystem residing (1) on a Back-end Information Network 2A.03 as detailedin FIG. 9B, or on a (1, 2, 3) networked Access Device 10A-H as detailedin FIG. 9C or (2, 3) on a simple data storage media together with theAsset Offerings itself, such as a DVD/CD with videos 10H which oncedeployed renders even a not networked Access Device, such as a GameConsole 10D into a fully functional Consumer Access System as detailedin FIG. 9F.

FIG. 9G depicts, that once located entirely on one standalone AccessDevice 9G.06, 9F, this single Access Device 10A-E can become theBack-end Information Network 9G.06 to other Assets and Access Devices9G.01, 9G.02, 9G.03, 9G.04, 9G.05, 9G.07, 10A-H, creating its own smallConsumer Access System network. This enables Consumers to build theirown independent solutions such as extraordinary Home and Entertainmentcontrol systems (FIG. 9G, 1H.03), allowing the Consumer for example tocheck the content of the recording media in his DVD/Video Recorder9G.07, 1H.04, 1M.01 at his home in Los Angeles, USA, before he schedules1M.01, 1H.04, the recording of an internet video broadcasting as well asa program provided through his home television cable Set-top Box 9G.04,taps into some video observation cameras 9G.05 installed in his house,checks that enough food is in his refrigerator 9G.03, orders 1G.01,14A.03 more milk with his Access Device 9G.01 and doing all this whilebeing in a hotel room in Seoul, Korea, using his Nokia 9210 Communicatorcellular phone as Access Device 9G.01, 1N. Any Consumer Access System inaccordance with various aspects of this invention has no limitations inits scalability allowing any type of Consumer Asset Offering solutionsfrom single system 11A, 11B to multiple server cluster deployments 11C,for private and/or corporate use.

The structure and application of the UI is illustrated in detail inFIGS. 12A, 13A-I, 13K and 13L.

The Front-end Human Interface 5A.11 is the User Interface (UI) to OurWorld Live's Novel Consumer Access System networking technology. In oneembodiment, the UI is available as entirely written in Java, a wellknown software development environment for platform independentprogramming and supporting Asset types Apple QuickTime 1A08 a, MicrosoftMedia Technologies 1A08 b, RealNetworks Media Technologies 1A08 c, MPEG1A08 d and standard television signals 1A08 e. By making all differentmultimedia formats accessible with the Front-end Human Interface theAsset Provider is free to choose, deploy and mix any existing and futuremedia platforms.

The Front-end Human Interface 5A.11 provides multiple types of Windowobjects, such as OnScreen, Companion and Monitor, each of them able tohave multiple concurrent existences or instances only limited to thecapabilities of the Access Device it is running on. For one or moreOWLed Assets one Companion Window is the parent object from which otherobjects come from (see FIG. 15A).

With increases in performance in the Access System, as well as with moreDisplay size offering either bigger or additional Displays, the Consumeris enabled to obtain increased advantage out of the Front-end HumanInterface's expandable Windows feature (illustrated in FIG. 16A).

The Front-end Human Interface can also span across multiple AccessDevices, creating for the Consumer one single Virtual Access Environment(FIGS. 2F and 13K). The Consumer can freely layout the Front-end HumanInterface across all Screens of the assimilated Access Devices (FIG.16B)—the FIGS. 1P, 1R and 1S illustrate how a Consumer watching theOlympic Games, chooses a camera angle on his (1P.01) Nokia 9210 cellularphone, (1R.01) Palm Pilot or (1S.01) Pocket PC and directs the videooutput to be displayed in an bigger OnScreen Window on his (1P.03)television set or (1R.02, 1S.02) Personal Computer. Being attracted by aproduct sales Offering displayed on the television set (1P.04) andsimultaneously provided with a corresponding prompt on his cellularphone (1P.02), he responds to it on his cellular phone (1P.02),automatically directing his Personal Computers' Front-end HumanInterface to the online store (1G.01) and purchasing the product on hisPersonal Computer.

The sophisticated Electronic Commerce procedures of various embodimentsof the invention provide extended capabilities for personalizedadvertisement (14D, 1L.06, 1P.04), forwarding to external stores (14B)and optimized integration of internal stores as well as external storeLegacy Systems, and are illustrated in detail in FIGS. 14A-D.

The Front-end Human Interface in various embodiments also provides theConsumer a portal into the world of Our World Live's Consumer AccessSystem simultaneously accessing any type of Asset 2C.01 a-f, 1A.08 a-e,1G.01, 1G.02, 1G.03, 1G.04, 1H.02, 1H.03, 1H.04, 1J.01, 1M.01, offeredlive-video and video-on-demand contents 2C.01 a, services 2C.01 a-d suchas banking, travel agencies, product stores and electronic shoppingmalls, as well as Home & Entertainment Devices 1H.04, 10C, 10D, 10G,10H, 9G, 1H.03 Home Appliances 10E, 9G, 1H.03 Audio EntertainmentDevices 1G, 1H, 1J, 2C.01 a-f from all over the world 1B, 1C, D with anytype of Access Device 1A, 1K-N, 1P-S, 2C.02 a-g (shown in FIG. 17A).

07.B. Navigation and Control Provided by the Front-end Human Interface

FIG. 18A shows the default Windows set up of a graphical user interfaceversion of the Front-end Human Interface as it would appear for OWLedAssets on a Consumer's Access Device such as a typical Personal Computersystem with a single Display and at a Screen resolution of 1024×768pixel. Additional examples for different Screen Layout arrangements ofthe Front-end Human Interface are shown in FIGS. 22A and 1A-F.

The main guide Window for navigation and control is the Companion Window(shown in FIG. 19A). The navigation and control provides the Consumerwith an intuitive and interactive way to overview the available AssetOfferings such as video content offered within a specific OWLed Assetsuch as a sports event. Beside offering video-on-demand services bysearching and browsing databases, the Front-end Human Interface providesadvantages in presenting Asset Offerings, such as live televisedbroadcasting events, in an entirely novel manner. A plurality ofexamples of how various embodiments of the invention provide access todifferent types of Asset Offerings are shown in FIGS. 1A-S.

As described above, in an Asset Offering, such as a live televisedbroadcasting event, several cameras are positioned with differentperspectives and viewing areas so that many more details of an event canbe viewed. In traditional television broadcasts a TV-channel producesits presentation of the event by cutting live from one camera to anothertrying to keep up with the supposed focus of interest of the TelevisionConsumer, often interrupted by commercials, slow motion replays andother contents.

-   -   In contrast, in the Companion 1A.05, the Consumer gets a visual        impression as to where the cameras are located and what        perspective and viewing area each one has. He or she then can        activate each single camera and either display at a Monitor        Window, e.g. 1A.08, with the make monitor feature (FIG. 20A) or        send the camera-output to the OnScreen Window, e.g. 1A.01,        (FIGS. 1A and 21A) to be displayed in the respective screen        area.

The Monitor Windows, e.g. 1A.08, although substantially smaller in sizeand with lower resolution than the OnScreen Window 1A.01, allow theConsumer to have an overview of the event as a whole and instantly jumpto the area of his or her personal interest to watch with highresolution and quality on the OnScreen Window 1A.01. The Consumer cannot only use the navigation services in the Companion (1A.05) but he orshe also can directly redirect the camera-output from the Monitor Window(1A.08) to the OnScreen Window (1A.01) with the easy OnScreen feature ofthe Monitor Window (1A.08) or vice versa with the make monitor featureof the OnScreen Window (1A.01).

In various embodiments, the action displayed on the OnScreen Window(1A.01) from a given camera is not lost by switching to another camerafor OnScreen Window (1A.01) viewing since the former camera isimmediately transferred to a Monitor Window (1A.08).

The Monitor Windows (1A.08), OnScreen Windows (1A.01) as well as theCompanion Windows (1A.05) are resizable and freely accommodateable, sothat the Consumer can customize the displayed information according tohis needs and the abilities of the used Access Device (FIGS. 1K-N).

In addition to that, the Front-end Human Interface is not restricted toa specific number or combination of Windows. The Consumer can freelychoose the number of Monitor, On Screen or Companion Windows to bedisplayed (FIGS. 22A, 1H) and is only restricted by the abilities of theused Access Device or Devices, in case he is combining multiple AccessDevices for deploying a Virtual Access Environment (FIGS. 2F, 16B).

Another feature of the Front-end Human Interface, are the Screen LayoutAlignment Tools, which support the Consumer in arranging the Windows and“cleaning up” his or her Screen. The tools Invisible Grid 13L.11, WindowMargins 13L.13, Magnetic Borders 13L.15 and Auto Align 13L.16 aredescribed more detailed in FIG. 13L. The tools not only work on oneScreen but across all Screens connected to a single Access Device andalso across all Access Devices, which are part of one Virtual AccessEnvironment.

Various embodiments of Our World Live's Consumer Access System are basedon Open Source technologies as well as on industry standards to offer awide range of services.

Asset providers using for their offerings technologies disclosed hereincan automatically provide them to consumers worldwide using theFront-end Human Interface application. Due to the simple but powerfuluser interface, freely Consumer customizable, with unlimited OWLedEvents, unlimited Windows, unlimited Access Devices and unlimitedDisplay support, the Front-end Human Interface becomes a Consumersportal into the world (FIG. 22A).

It will be understood that another embodiment of the present inventionuses the cable or satellite delivery infrastructures to deliver contentto the Consumer's television set. This system encompasses storing theprogram content, program guide, advertising content, customer service,profiling, and billing, including functionalities currently built intothe set-top box on computer servers that become part of the Back-endInfrastructure network. The Front-end Human Interface is downloaded onstart up to the set top box, or can be resident on the set top box, toallow the viewer to access and interact with the Back-end InformationNetwork. In this embodiment the content owner, broadcaster, andnetwork/cable operators can use one unified Back-end/front-endtechnology to deliver their content over any delivery infrastructure andenhance the viewer experience.

It will be understood that another embodiment of the present inventionallows the advertisers, content owners, broadcasters, and network/cableoperators to dynamically insert profile targeted advertisements,simultaneously showing different adds to different viewers during thesame event, to track user behavior, to create, poll, track and monitorin real time.

1. A user front-end human interface system for allowing a user to accessand control the presentation of multiple assets from asset providers,the assets comprising at least one of video, audio, graphics, script,information, and controls, using a front-end human interface on auser-controllable access device, within an access environment, thesystem comprising: a network device, storing computer program code, thenetwork device being spaced apart from the access device wherein thefront-end human interface is defined by software that is at leastpartially located: on the network device and is dynamically loaded ontoa user's access device in response to the user's access deviceconnecting to the network device means for loading and updating thefront-end human interface the front-end human interface allowing for thedisplay and user interaction with a plurality of windows including atleast two types of windows selected from the following three types:monitor windows for preview-level access to assets; onscreen windows forhigh-quality-level access to assets; and companion windows for providingvideo, audio, pictorial, textural, informational or commercial assetofferings or access to system controls; at least one of the monitor,onscreen and companion windows being equipped with user controls thatallow the user to: enable and disable asset interaction or control; andsend an asset from a monitor window to an onscreen window.
 2. The systemof claim 1, wherein assets comprise live or recorded events or moviesfeaturing any combination of audio, video and textural information. 3.The system of claim 2, wherein the audio feature enabling/disablingcapability spans across all windows within respective access devices, sothat the enabling of audio in one window causes all other availableaudio features in all other windows to be disabled.
 4. The system ofclaim 2, wherein the user can select a preference to enable audio on anyonscreen or monitor window of each access device or one specific accessdevice, disabling the audio controls on other windows respectively. 5.The system of claim 1 wherein the assets comprise contained assets whichare video cameras.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the assets comprisebundled assets which respectively comprise one or more events andcameras available in one or more venues, and the companion window ispresenting said cameras as pictograms on a two- or three dimensionalrepresentation of the event's venue.
 7. The system of claim 1, whereinthe companion window is presenting the bundled assets in list form. 8.The system of claim 1 further configured to control the availability ofone or more assets within the access environment in response to theasset provider's fee receipt and authorization process for users toaccess all or certain assets.
 9. The system of claim 8 wherein assetsare available for presentation in the monitor windows only, and the userwill be prompted to pay a fee for every single asset that he wants tosend to an onscreen window.
 10. The system of claim 9 where the userwill be prompted to pay a fee to be able to send any available assets toan onscreen window.
 11. The system of claim 8 where the informationsources are cameras in a venue providing a live feed of an event. 12.The system of claim 8 where the asset provider offers a post-event assetfor free or for a fee that contains an edited version of the event. 13.The system of claim 8 where only those assets that provide close-upviews of the event require the user to pay a fee.
 14. The system ofclaim 1 wherein an asset offered in one window type is sent to anotherwindow type.
 15. The system of claim 1 and configured to offer a fullscreen presentation of a window.
 16. A user front-end human interfacesystem for allowing a user to access and control the presentation ofmultiple assets from asset providers, the assets containing at least oneof audio, video, and script, using a front-end human interface on auser-controllable access device, the system comprising: an accessdevice; wherein the front-end human interface is defined by computerprogram code that is at least partially located on the access device;means for loading and updating the front-end human interface thefront-end human interface allowing for the display and user interactionwith a plurality of windows including at least two types of windowsselected from the following three types: monitor windows for access toassets at a first quality level; onscreen windows for access to assetsat a second quality level higher than the first quality level; andcompanion windows for providing video, audio, pictorial, textural,informational or commercial asset offerings; at least one of themonitor, onscreen and companion windows being equipped with usercontrols that allow the user to: enable and disable asset interaction orcontrol; and transfer an asset from one window type to another windowtype.
 17. The system of claim 16, wherein said access device is acellular telephone.
 18. The system of claim 16, wherein said accessdevice is a TV set top box.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein saidaccess device is a TV.
 20. The system of claim 16, wherein said accessdevice is a monitor.
 21. The system of claim 16, wherein said accessdevice is a computer.
 22. The system of claim 16, wherein said accessdevice is a DVD player.
 23. The system of claim 16, wherein said accessdevice is a game console.
 24. The system of claim 16, wherein saidaccess device is an entertainment device or system.
 25. The system ofclaim 16, wherein said access device is the information system of aterrestrial or aerial transport vehicle.
 26. A method of defining a userfront-end human interface for allowing a user to access and control thepresentation of assets from asset providers using an access device, theassets containing at least one of audio, video, and text, the methodcomprising: defining the front-end human interface using computerprogram code that is configured to be partially or entirely located onat least one of: the access device; and a network device; means forloading and updating the front-end human interface the front-end humaninterface allowing for the display and user interaction with a pluralityof windows including at least two types of windows selected from thefollowing three types: monitor windows for access to assets at a firstquality level; onscreen windows for access to assets at a second qualitylevel higher than the first quality level; and companion windows forproviding video, audio, pictorial, textural, informational or commercialasset offerings; and the front-end human interface including usercontrols to: enable and disable asset interaction or control transfer anasset from one window type to another window type.